II

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Arc II Chapter 20

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18th Anima Lunar VIII AAC 753

Aurora was wildly gesticulating in her best efforts to distract while describing the events that had transpired. "Then a big, ebil wolfie suddenly appeared and attacked me. No manners. No greeting."

Her little fairy tale visibly stretched the very limits of Rudolf's imagination. "You've got a vivid imagination ... I'll give you that, little one. What do you think, ... Iris ... Iris ..."

"Iris, are you listening?" Rudolf clicked his tongue, his mood sour. His words ripped Iris from her stupor who instantly snapped to attention Her focus returned.

"..." Rudolf scoffed about her apparent lack of attention. "You spaced out, Iris. Again."

"Sorry, it happens from time to time." Iris scratched her head before deflecting with a bright smile. "It can't be helped." Her smile worked miracles, placating Rudolf who was quick to relent.

In the meantime, Iris' gaze lingered on Aurora, her gaze inevitably drawn to faint traces of aether surrounding her. The woman did not see the sprites directly, but she keenly sensed them.

Rudolf returned his attention to her. "So where did we stop?"

"Well, ..." Aurora resumed her story. "The wolfie attacked with his beamy lightningy thingy. He was like whoosh, and whaash, and whuush, and whiish, and whaash. It was all bery, bery scary. So I jumped behind a wall."

"..." Rudolf pinched the bridge of his nose, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips. "Unbelievable, you've got the spirits' own luck. It's true, the spirits watch over the drunken, idiots, and little girls."

"..." Aurora declined to comment. Instead, she pretended that she did not hear what he had said.

"Anyway, what happened then?" Rudolf eyes narrowed.

"..." Aurora contemplated, her little headsie working tirelessly, thinking lots and lots. "To be honest, I don't remember ..."

Iris raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember?"

"I don't." Aurora lowered her eyes. "The ebil wolfie charged another of his beamie thingies. Afterwards, a big boom followed, and everything went whoosh. Then I woke up among all the rubble. Everything around me was destroyed, and the wolfie was dead."

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"..." Rudolf listened attentively, his look serious. Her explanation did not appear to particularly convince him. "Iris, do you think our little girl here is telling the truth?"

"Hey." Aurora protested, pouting and puffing out her cheeks. "I am telling the truth! Your nonsensical allegations are unfounded." Rudolf and Iris ignored her comment completely.

"..." Iris merely shrugged her shoulders, unsure how to respond. "Who knows, though, her version appears plausible. It might be indeed possible that dread could have killed itself."

"Really?" Rudolf furrowed an eyebrow. "How so?"

Iris pointed at the crater and the remains of what had once been crystals. Their shattered fragments glimmered purple in the sun. "Look, Rudolf, do you see what I see? These are lightning crystals, or rather what remains of them. There were a lot of them. Probably a large crystal vein hidden under the surface. I suspect that an aetherochemical reaction might be the reason behind this explosion. At least, circumstantial evidence suggests so. The high concentration of lightning aether in the air. The presence of crystal deposits. The strength of the explosions. The blast radius."

"An aetherchemi ... what?" Rudolf raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like some mage stuff."

"..." Aurora sharpened her ears, eavesdropping with great interest. Her words implied that the concept of aetherochemistry was understood.

"Well, it is." Iris nodded in confirmation. "I've read about it back then during my studies. The manuals mentioned that it's possible for crystallised aether to interact with its environment. Depending on the elemental nature of the crystallised aether, these reactions can easily result in an explosion. "

Iris raised her index finger, her voice turning academic. The scholar in her had emerged. "Such explosions are a common occurrence when it comes to crystal mining. They tend to happen when crystals are handled carelessly during excavation. In fact, they are so common that Livonian alchemists discovered the unstable nature of certain types of crystals. Crystals that are aligned with celestial elements such as fire, wind, and lightning are usually among the most reactive ones. They are all particularly reactive when refined and ground into fine powder. The powder is easily inflammable and explosive. Even a single spark would suffice to set off the powder ... But I've never thought that an explosion with this degree of destruction would be possible. The lightning attack of the dread wolf must've somehow caused a chain reaction."

"..." Rudolf merely blinked, probably understanding less than half of it. "So, just to be clear, Iris, are you telling me then she's telling the truth? The dread wolf killed himself?"

"..." Iris nodded in confirmation. "Pretty much."

"..." Aurora crossed her arms, hugging her doll. "Hmpf, told you so. I'm not a liar, but ebil Uncle Rudolf not believing me."

"..." Rudolf let her insult slide, yet his attention turned once again to her. "Listen, girl, trust me, this isn't over yet. Not by a long shot. Regardless of whatever killed the dread wolf, the fact stands that you've left the camp without permission. From now onwards, you'll stay with me. And I'll keep my eyes on you. So don't get any funny ideas, understood?"

Aurora looked dejected, her eyes welling up with tears. "But ... But ... But ... That's unfair. I didn't do anything wrong!"

Rudolf narrowed his eyes. "Forget it, you don't even need to try. Your kitten eyes won't work on me ..."

"Come on, Michael, we're almost there!" A familiar voice interrupted them. A loud voice brimming with confidence. It was Lambert.

"Hey, wait! Lambert, slow down! I ... can't ... run ... any more. I'm... exhausted ..." Another familiar voice joined. Michael chased after Lambert, desperately trying to keep up with him.

"Stop bitching, Michael! You are a decade younger than me! Where is all your fire?" Lambert joked.

"A decade?" Michael protested vehemently in response. "You are barely five years older than me!!!"

"Tsk, more running, less complaining!" Lambert clicked his tongue before arriving at the scene after sprinting at full speed. His lungs were panting heavily. "... First."

"... ... ..." Michael followed shortly after, just a moment before he collapsed. His lips kissed the hard ground in a state of mortal agony, exhausted to the point of complete physical destruction. But even on the brink of death, the warrior in him raised his arm. "... ... ... Eh, second."

...

...

...

Everyone stared. Rudolf stared. Iris stared. Aurora stared. Her doll stared. Her will o' wisps stared. They looked at each other, exchanging questioning glances.

Aurora murmured to her doll, "I think they're strange." Her doll nodded, seconding her assessment without hesitation.

Lambert was panting heavily, yet he was quick to regain his composure. "We came ... as fast ... as possible. Tell ... us, ... what ... happened? "

"..." Rudolf crossed his arms while giving her a pointed glance. "That's a long story." It was.

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